


Falafel and Film Studies

by trobedisons



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Batman - Freeform, Characters Watching Disney Movies, Characters Watching Star Wars, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Films, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Movie Night, Multi, OT3, Trobed, Trobedison, abed is batman, but it's not sad i promise, emotional!troy, established trobedison, they all love each other so much, they're all in love, this one is v happy, trobedison rights, troy cries in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:54:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trobedisons/pseuds/trobedisons
Summary: It's movie night, and Annie and Troy can't decide what to watch. Abed comes back from his doctor's appointment with falafel from his dad's resturant.
Relationships: Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Annie Edison/Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Annie Edison, Troy Barnes/Annie Edison/Abed Nadir
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	Falafel and Film Studies

**Author's Note:**

> This is pure marshmallow fluff. I don't know why a one-shot took me so long to write. Enjoy! (Edit: Wow I didn't proofread. I really might need a beta reader.)
> 
> Update: I start my full time job on Monday so I won't be as active. But I have a whole draft full of fic ideas and a really fun AU. Stay tuned!!

Troy Barnes.  Annie Edison. 

The two sat criss-cross in the middle of the apartment, surrounded by a haphazard assortment of DVDs. Any arrangement based on title, genre, or cover art was gone. They descended into madness trying to make a decision over which movie to watch tonight. Something with humor? Something with horror? But then that begged the question of mainstream or indie? Abed loved Japanese horror. Or should they play it safe with a Disney movie, which Annie would always advocate for?

Should they even  _ try  _ Jeff’s Netflix account? No. Too many options, and their current conflict would spiral further out of control.

Dark brown eyes met blue in a narrowed gaze. A sculpted brow arched in response. Waiting with baited breath as the countdown began. One...two...three...

"Not it!"

Upon placing a finger on their nose at the same time, Annie and Troy collectively grumbled.

"One more time," Troy said.

"Not it!" Their voices overlapped as the same result occurred.

"Dang it!" Troy exclaimed, banging the floor with double fists. "How come it only works when we do it to Jeff?"

At that moment, Abed walked in with a greasy paper bag in his hand and a lollipop between his teeth. Carrying his books underneath his other arm, he used an elbow to prop open and slide through the door. Troy and Annie inhaled and grinned in unison, worries now melting away at the aroma of fried chickpeas. 

“Hey there, Abed,” Annie greeted, putting on a hopeful smile. Initially, Troy and Annie wanted to choose a movie  _ before  _ Abed got back. They knew today would be especially difficult because he had a doctor's appointment after class. 

Abed didn't like going to the doctor. It was just a physical, but he more so hated the atmopshere.He hated the silent waiting room, only hearing the static buzz of the air conditioning. He twitched at the sound of sneezes and glared at anyone who didn't cough into their elbow. Sterile white walls closed in on him, triggering a bout of claustrophobia, causing him to whimper. Lying down on the cot felt like being in  _ Young Frankenstien _ , but the doctor wasn't Gene Wilder -- or a madman with a box.

Britta was supposed to drive him, but his father stepped in. And before Britta went into a feminist rant, Abed pointed out that she wasn't a legal guardian. His father filled out all the forms and such, as he was still on the health insurance. It wasn't much, but the falafel business wasn't exactly lucrative. Abed flinched when the doctor tried to touch him, but then she asked about his Batman shirt. He spent the rest of the physical discussing the portrayals of Christian Bale versus Ben Affleck, which proved a great distraction. After the appointment, the doctor came back with a Batman sticker.

_ Is this my reward for not cowering at the needle this time?  _

_ No, Abed. We have superhero stickers in our pediatric wing. Now I know how much you like Batman, so I wanted to give you one.  _

Normally, Abed would protest being treated like a kid. However, he saw the gesture as more thoughtful than condescending. Finally, a medical professional refrained from negatively emphasizing his tics, and instead genuinely listened to his interests. Someone neurotypical didn’t see him as a burden or a nuisance. She reminded him of Annie, in a way. Endearing, caring, without any ulterior motive. When Abed thought of Annie, the word “pure” came to mind. Not to say she was naive, but she reflected selflessness and goodness. And of course, Abed thought of Troy, his best friend. The Jules to his Vincent, the Hobbes to his Calvin, the milk to his Lucky Charms. From embarking on imaginative adventures to theorizing about alien life, Troy always understood him, more than anyone else. And he never judged him for it. 

Besides, he couldn’t say no to Batman. 

Abed then used the opportunity to ask if they had lollipops, and upon the confirmation of cherry flavor, he stuck his whole hand in the jar. The doctor only let him take one though. He would’ve tried to sneak into the pediatric wing and snag a few goodies for Troy and Annie. But he knew only the real Batman would succeed for a stealth mission, and well, he didn’t have the costume readily available.

“Hi guys,” Abed said.

Annie straightened up and cleared the space of some DVDs. "How was the doctors?" 

Abed set the bag on the table. Taking the lollipop out of his mouth and giving it a lick, he shrugged off his backpack. “It was good. Well, better than usual. I got a lollipop and a Batman sticker.” After showing off the lollipop, he threw it in the trash bin. He didn’t like to bite into hard candy, because in his opinion, only candy like Laffy Taffy (the banana flavor, of course) and Air Heads should be pulled apart and chewed. Plus it bothered his texture issues.

“And your dad?” the brunette prodded. She couldn’t help but express concern, for his father could come off as berating and impatient, especially around his son.

“Also good. He gave us some falafel for dinner.” Abed lifted the bag up to show them. “He says I'm too scrawny and the college food is toxic waste that's rotting my insides. I asked him if he wanted to come to movie night, but he said no. My dad never wanted to watch anything, so I was just kinda raised on TV.”

Despite not being the best news, a corner of her mouth upturned. She was happy Abed started developing a closer relationship with his father. Coming from a divorced household herself, she wished she had been closer with her mother. 

Annie bit down her fingernail. "Well, it’s a nice change from buttered noodles -- right, Troy?"

"Does that mean Greendale food is radioactive?" Troy asked, leaning forward. "Because then I can load up on chocolate chip cookies and become the Hulk."

Abed snapped his forefinger off his thumb before correcting him. "Nah, that's gamma rays. I'm pretty sure my dad was thinking more like Abomination, even though he probably doesn't know who that is."

"Uh, you'd have to be clueless to _ not _ know who the Abomination is." Troy attempted a laugh, since he didn't want to admit his own ignorance. Given his occasional gullibility, mostly involving butts and realizing realizations that weren't actually realizations, Troy commanded the League of the Clueless.

"Clueless!" Annie exclaimed, brightening up in a eureka moment. "Let's watch _ Clueless _ ."

Tilting his head, Abed raised an eyebrow. "I'm figuring you haven't decided on our movie for tonight?"

"No way, Annie," Troy said, hiccuping a chortle. "That's a chick flick. And the fact that Paul Rudd doesn't seem to age is downright freaky."

"Hmm,  _ Curious Case of Benjamin Button _ ?" Abed suggested, sitting down and joining the small circle with small tubs of tahini sauce and hummus, pita wrapped in wax paper, as well as the tinfoil container of falafel goodness. "Because we were talking about not aging."

Annie placed a hand over her heart. "Aw, I find that movie so endearing."

Troy and Abed groaned in unison, which put that one off the table.

“Let’s watch  _ Kickpuncher, _ ” Troy and Abed said together. Pointing at each other, their eyes widened. “Jinx! Double jinx!” Then they did their signature handshake. 

“You know what? Fine.” Standing up, Annie dusted off her knees and folded her arms. “You two figure it out.  _ I’m _ going to get some silverware.” 

"We should save some falafel for Britta," Troy commented. "Is falafel ethically vegan? Because I think she's every  _ type _ of vegan."

Instantly Abed intervened. "The ingredients are: dried chickpeas, fresh parsley, cilantro, dill, onion, garlic, kosher salt and pepper, cumin, coriander, cayenne and one secret spice I cannot name because it would betray the Nadir family recipe."

Coming back with a stack of napkins, utensils, and plates, Annie leaned down to kiss Abed on the top of his head. His cheeks rosied as her soft lips met his mop of hair, smiling bashfully to himself. 

"Pretty much finely ground chickpeas," she added. She sat next to Troy, and leaned forward to kiss his cheek, but his face twisted into a pained expression, and Annie let out a concerned gasp.

Tears began to well up in his eyes. Annie reached out to place a hand on his shoulder as Troy burst into sobs. "Those poor chickpeas!" he wept, rocking back and forth. "What did they do to deserve such cruelty?"

With a fork stuck in a single falafel, Abed quirked an eyebrow. "Would this be a bad time to suggest  _ Cruel Intentions _ ?"

Putting her fork down, Annie reached into the pocket and pulled out a quarter. “How about we flip a coin? If it’s heads, we watch  _ Kickpuncher _ . If it’s tails, we watch what I suggest.”

“Nope. Nothing that involves chance,” Abed answered. “Remember,  _ timelines _ .”

Troy sobbed into the sleeve of his shirt. “The chickpeas!” he cried, voice raising an octave.

“You guys,” Annie groaned. “This was supposed to be fun! And Abed was so happy about his doctor’s appointment and bringing us dinner. Now we’re crying over beans and I have tahini sauce on my shirt.”

“I have an idea,” Abed intervened. “We each select a genre, an actor, a decade, some component of a movie. Then we figure out the common denominator, and that’s the movie we watch. I’ll go first: the genre is action.”

“I want some girl power!” Annie declared, pressing her fist into her open palm.

“Hmm,” Troy pondered, no longer crying over their meal. “Cameron Diaz.”. 

Abed cupped his hands around his mouth, and Troy shouted along with him: **“ _Los bigotes de la cabra es Cameron Diaz_!”**

“Perfect, so we’re watching  _ Charlie’s Angels.” _

“Sounds like a plan.” Troy grinned. “I wasn’t actually crying by the way. I think I might be allergic to chickpeas.” Yeah right, T-Bone.

Annie laughed. “This is why we need you, Abed,” she said. “You always come up with the best course of action.”

Abed rummaged through the DVDs before handing her the correct one. “Why else do you think we went for Charlie’s Angels?” Abed responded. “The best things come in threes.”

“You got that right,” Annie grinned, putting one arm around Troy and the other around Abed. The boys kissed her on the nearest cheek, which made the girl squeal with joy. “I’m gonna go put in the movie."

When Annie left, Troy nudged Abed with his elbow. “Hey buddy, check the fridge I made you special drink.” The special drink consisted of hot cocoa mix and milk. Jeff had said its true name was diabetes, but Abed had simply shrugged at the sarcastic quip.To him, it was special, even more special when Troy made it. 

“Thanks,” Abed replied with a soft smile. He looked down for a moment before reaching into the pocket of his jeans. He pulled out the Batman sticker and handed it to Troy.

“The doctor gave me a Batman sticker because she saw I had a Batman shirt. Then I talked about Christian Bale versus Ben Affleck for the rest of the appointment.”

“Did she agree Christian Bale was better?”

“Nah, she didn’t say anything because she was sticking a thing in my ear.” Abed passed the sticker to Troy. “I want you to have it.”

“Aww,” Troy smiled, looking at the sticker between his fingers. “Can I put it on my forehead?”

“Sure. You can put it wherever you want. It’s yours now.”

“Awesome.” Without hesitation, he peeled the sticker off the backing and slapped it on his forehead. “Thanks, man.” Again, they did their handshake, and Annie sat on the edge of the armrest, intertwining the fingers on her left hand with Abed and the fingers on her right hand with Troy. Abed passed Troy a pillow, and Troy held it close to his chest.

“So who do you think the Drew Barrymore of the group would be?" Abed inquired.

"I'm definitely the Bill Murray."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Troy, he's not even one of the Angels."

"Oh yeah. Duh-doy."

"Hey Annie? Can you pass me a napkin?"

"Sure, Abed. Can you give me a kiss?"

Abed gave her a peck on the lips, and Annie gave him his napkin. 

"Ack, your breath smells like garlic."

"So does yours."

" _Thanks,_ Abed."


End file.
